This is on point. I'm Magna Chacrabardi. The American West continues to endure the worst drought in more than 1,200 years.

Let me say that again. It is the worst drought in the West in more than 1,200 years. In New Mexico, more than 90% of the land there is currently in extreme or exceptional drought.

And every year across the West, the drought reveals new ways that it's permanently changing the landscape and how people live on it.

This year, there's a painful irony that's led to New Mexico's record-breaking wildfires.

They were started intentionally, prescribed burns whose purpose is to clear forests of dry fuel that could ignite into uncontrolled wildfires.

But those prescribed burns themselves got out of control. The hermit's peak in Cafft Canyon fires combined to consume more than 335,000 acres. And they remain only 70% contained.

President Biden visited New Mexico last weekend.

Thousands of people displaced, ranchers wiped out schools, shuttered, and wilderness looks like a moonscape.

You see parts of it where I was able to see. And I'm thinking about what you're thinking. And that is our responsibility.

It's not a gift. We have a responsibility to help the state recover, to help the families who have been here for centuries.

And the beautiful northern to Mexico villages who can't go home, and whose livelihoods have been fundamentally changed.

The federal government has accepted responsibility for the wildfires and has committed to covering 100% of the cost of debris removal and emergency protective measures.

But the threat posed by the fires reached beyond Chard A. Critch. New Mexico's governor, Democrat Michelle Luhan-Grichum, says the wildfires are endangering critical water sources.

We need help with debris removal, watershed protection for river streams in Asakia's, the water, which is the lifeblood of all these communities in particular.

And one of those communities is Las Vegas, New Mexico, population about 13,000. And Louis Trujillo is that city's mayor and he joins us now.

Major Trujillo, excuse me, mayor Trujillo, welcome to on point. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me. So first of all, Mr. Mayor, can you tell me sort of what current conditions are like in and around Las Vegas, New Mexico?

So definitely dealing with the mega drought, things around our brown Las Vegas used to be a very green community. Everybody had lawns and the the rolling hills to the east of us were always so green and beautiful.

And now there's just a complete shade of brown everywhere.

So it's dry and hot today and unseasonably windy for this type of this time of year.

And that is what really caused those fires to go out of control and the winds were so fierce during that time, you know, 50 mile an hour sustained winds and 80 mile an hour gusts while the fire was burning the hottest.

Still today waking up there's a smell of smoke visible smoke, you know, in the horizon and you can smell smoke not as much as when the fire was close to Las Vegas and almost creeped into our city.

We were one ridge away from catastrophe for our city on the west side of Las Vegas is a crystal and ridge and the fire burned right along that ridge and fortunately for Las Vegas, it didn't creep into our town.

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